TACOMA — Two people are dead and a third in the hospital after an assault late Friday in the city’s Hilltop neighborhood.

Tacoma police arrested a 37-year old Tacoma man and booked him into Pierce County Jail at 8:45 a.m. Saturday on two charges of first-degree murder and one charge of attempted murder.

None of the victims has been identified, pending examination by the Medical Examiner’s Office.

Police spokeswoman Loretta Cool said the survivor’s injuries are not life-threatening.

Cool said officers discovered the bodies when they went to the residence, at South 19th and South L streets, on a welfare check. According to county records, the man arrested Saturday had been booked into jail Thursday on charges of criminal assault/domestic violence and second-degree assault. He was released Friday, hours before the bodies were discovered.

Cool said the assaults earlier in the week occurred at the same residence. “We did respond here and we have responded here in the past on related issues,” she said. “This is all very sad because the situation was preventable.”

About The Today File

The Today File is a general news blog featuring real-time coverage of Seattle and the Northwest. It is reported by the news staff of The Seattle Times and includes stories from The Associated Press and McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.